Wednesday March 14 - Friday March 16
Wed. March 14 -- After the big day on Sanibel yesterday, I more or less take it easy today, reading Steve Jobs, and catching up on the blog and Internet surfing. I note on the one of the news pages that Michael
Hossack, original drummer for the Doobie Brothers, has passed away at age 65 of cancer. I check the news story and read that Hossack did the drumming on several of the Doobies' early classics, including "Listen to the Music" (which in my opinion is one of great classic rock tunes of all times and my "anthem" of the 1970s), and "China Grove." He played with original band from its inception in 1971 to 1973, then left the band to pursue other musical interests. He came back again in 1987 when a watered-down version of the band reunited and went on tour. He stayed with the group until 2010 until the cancer finally forced him to take a medical leave, and of course he never returned. It's yet another reminder to me that I am getting old, when the music-makers of my youth start passing away.
Thursday March 15
Today is the "Big M Casino Cruise" day, so I rise, take my morning meds, check the kitty bowls for food and fresh water, and head out on my trusty mount, the Murrary "Westport" cruiser. My plan is bike as far as "Marti's Family Restaurant," and have breakfast there. Then, bike the rest of the way to the dock over on Fort Myers Beach. I have my backpack stocked with my Netbook (there will be no Internet access, but I can write my blog on a word processor); a copy of "Assassin's Shadow," by Randy Wayne White
(writing under the pen name Randy Striker); sunscreen; and a few other assorted things. I leave the condo by 7:40 a.m. and arrive at Marti's at 8:10. I order the #1 breakfast special, which is two eggs to order, meat
(I choose sausage patties); choice of hash brown, Am Fries, or grits (hash browns); choice of toast or biscuit (whole wheat toast), all for the bargain price of $4.75. I add a coffee for an additional $1.75. All is delicious, and arrives from the kitchen lightening fast and hot.
I leave Marti's shortly before 9 a.m., and bike the rest of the way to the dock. I ride the bike partly over the San Carlos bridge, but have to "wimp out" part the way uphill. I arrive at the dock a little after 9:30,
lock up the bike, and buy my boarding pass, having made reservations a couple days ago. I have to pay "full fare," which is $10, because I must be the only person here without a half-off coupon, available in most any
coupon flyer spread around town. (It turns out there is a coupon flyer right right in the lobby of the Big M; why didn't the lady tell me?) Oh well, ten bucks for a half-day ocean cruise is still the best bargain in town,
if you're willing to put up with a little tobacco smoke and pass the time with a little gambling. (Actually is not a REQUIREMENT that you gamble aboard the ship. You could, theoretically, pass the entire time reading, playing cards, etc., if that's what you choose. But since I like to gamble, this is a fun part of the voyage, though I set my loss limit ahead of time at $50.)
I clear security (metal detector) and board the 168-foot ship, and immediately do a perimeter check of the 3 decks. The main deck (level one) is all gaming, with a variety of slot machines (mostly the older 3-reeler
varieties) and gaming tables, including black jack, craps, and roulette. (Also a couple of other card games, 3 card Poker and "Let it Ride," though I'm not interested in these; just blackjack.).
The second deck is the eating deck, where the buffet is set up. I have opted not to eat at the buffet, because I've heard that, while it's OK, it's not great. There are also a few slot machines on this deck as well. The third deck is an open deck, most of which is covered by a canvas roof from the sun, but there is also a small sun deck. Smoking is allowed here, as well as the casino level, so if one is sensitive to smoke, your only escape is the second level, and during peak dining times you would be limited to sitting at a small bar because they need all the tables for diners. There is also a small service bar on deck three that serves drinks (hard and soft), and a few ala carte snack items, such as hot dogs, chips, nachos, and a few other items void of any nutrition.
Before we get underway, the touristy "Pirate Cruise" passes by our ship, causing a momentary stir among the passengers, who gather at the side of the ship to have a gawk. There are waves and shouts of "Arghhh" as they pass, We get under way about 10:30 a.m. and leave San Carlos Bay. It is a beautiful sunny day with gentle breezes. The ship must sail for a little over an hour to reach international waters, so they can legally engage in taking our money. So they pass the time with a game of Bingo on the third deck. I do not partake, because I am never lucky at Bingo. The cruise is fun, and I pass the time by reading, writing the blog, and occasionally going out on the sun deck to watch the waves and the dolphins which almost at regular intervals surface alongside the ship and follow it for a while.
The announcement is made over the PA that the casino will open shortly, and passengers are urged to make their way to the casino deck and stake out their favorite slot machine or gaming table. When I get there, many people have already parked themselves at their favorite machine, so obviously there are a lot of "regulars" here. I find a $5 blackjack table, and the dealer is already making change in preparation of the game, so I lay out $60 and get twelve $5 chips in return. The dealer checks every bill with an ammonia
pen for counterfeits. I pocket two of the chips to set my loss limit at $50, no exceptions.
To my far right, at position #1 on the table, is a beautiful blond in her late 40s or early 50s, complete with tanning booth tan, and enough bright red lipstick to coat your average size canoe. But damn, she was striking, and turned just about every male head in the casino, and some female ones, too. She is weighted down with about $20K worth of gold jewelry, including what looks to be about a 2-carat solitaire engagement ring. To her left, at position #2, is her soon-to-be husband (she lets everybody know this), who is looking about 20 years her senior, with one foot in the grave, and is no doubt the source of all this bling, along with fashion white jeans, a tasteful low-cut blouse, open toed high heel sandals, and designer sunglasses, all of which I know did not come from K-Mart. She lays $1,000 on the table; hubby-to-be another $500, and they receive their chips.
A few moments later, on precise cue, the slot machines all boot up, and the dealers get the nod from the pit bosses, and we're off. We have a very pleasant table. I fear blondie and her soon-to-be-slabbed fiance, will be stuck up, but they are actually very pleasant folks, and are chatting up the dealer, and wishing people good luck on their aces, and all that. Everyone at the table knows basic strategy, so we pass a pleasant time playing blackjack.
I exhaust my budget in about 1.5 hours, and it's all fine because I know my $50 probably would have lasted five minutes at the slot machines. So I take my remaining $10 in chips, and leave the table, wishing everyone "good luck," and blondie replies, "Good luck, sweeties," so it's all good.
I pass the remaining time on the boat sitting on deck three. I buy a hot dog combo meal for $5, and a Coke refill for another buck. I read and write, and watch the ocean from the sundeck. At about 3 p.m., they announce the casino is closing and everyone is to stop playing and proceed to the cashier with whatever remains of their money. There are indeed a few big winners, and they are announced over the PA system to provide the rest of us with a shred of hope that we may indeed be winners if we merely come back and give it another go.
We approach the bay, accompanied by dolphins, and dock promptly at 4:30 p.m. and deboard. I get my bike and start pedaling home. I am hungry, because all I've had for lunch is a hot dog. I come to a place called "Pincher's Crab Shack," which I noticed on my way here, because they advertised stone crabs, starting at $13.99 for a half pound. So I decide to stop there for my dinner. The base price is for a half pound of medium claws with no sides, so I opt for a dinner with a FULL pound of medium claws, and two sides for $24.99 (I choose slaw and garlic bread). Draft beers are also 2-for-1 during happy hour, so I get two 12-ounce "Shock Tops" for the price of one, which is $4.50 -- a relative bargain. The only challenge is to keep the one cold while I enjoy the other one; they won't split them up for you. But the chilled mugs help keep them cold.
The medium claws arrive, chilled (you can also get them warm, but that's not the recommended way to eat them), and they are delicious with drawn butter and lemon. I crack them with a sharp knife and a mallet, and savor every delicious sweet bite. It's a tough call, but I think I have to say that, all things taken into consideration, stone crab is my favorite treasure of the sea. Lobster certainly ranks up there, but the
characteristics of lobster can vary considerably, depending on the species, where it's from, when it's caught, and how well (or poorly) it's prepared. With stone crab, you almost can't miss (the major exception being if they're not fresh). Granted, it's a little more work than lobster (particularly if the lobster tail has been removed and already split) but the effort is definitely worth it.
I leave Pinchers will a full belly, and pedal the rest of the way back to the condo, arriving about 7 p.m. with plenty of daylight still left due to the recent time change. I've been gone almost 12 hours, and it's been a
lovely day.
Friday March 16
My biological alarm clock wakes me at the usual 7:15. I skip the morning java and bike immediately over to the Farmers market at Lakes Park for a breakfast pita at this Greek stand, and a cup of nice coffee at another bakery stand, and also a pint carton of fresh strawberries (yummy!). I again talk with my guitar buddy, Grant, who tells me about a book titled "Bars, Beaches, and B3s" that supposedly chronicles the golden era of Long Island sound where many of the rock musicians of our era ("our" meaning the 50-something crowd) got their start. I later research this on amazon and google, but am unable to find such a book, only a reference to the website of the "Long Island Music Hall of Fame," dedicated to the early days of doo-wop and rock 'n' roll. (As it turns out, an amazing number of musicians and bands of '50s music came out of Long Island.) But I write it down here for future reference. I also drop a couple of bucks into Grant's tip jar.
I am in the mood for a killer salad tonight, so I proceed to shop for really good salad fixin's, including a great looking head of Boston Bibb lettuce. I think in all, I end up spending about $10 between the lettuce, cucumber, fresh radishes, green pepper, and a beautiful vine ripened tomato.
I bike all that stuff back to the condo and refrigerate the lettuce after washing it. I taste it, and it is lettuce of the Gods, of the type that is usually not available to us mere mortals because it is typically sold to restaurants rather than to grocers. Much as I hate to admit it, organic really does make a difference sometimes!
I grab the two remaining protein bars from my farmers' market trip last
week, and head over by car to the Fleamasters Flea Market for a little recreation there. I make one last ditch attempt to find a first edition of "Sanibel Flats" from my book contact, Chris, but no luck. I give him my business card and tell him to call me if he gets a lead on one by next Wednesday (the author is doing a book signing next Thursday) but I don't hold up much hope.
I sell the "Leatherheads" back to the DVD lady for a buck, then proceed to wander the market, in search of nothing in particular. I do check out a booth that specializes in games, expecting to find a lot of Nintendo shit
and stuff like that, but it turns out to be a really cool store that deals in board games, domino and Mahjong sets, and so forth. And also, lots of magic tricks (do I need to explain this to anyone?). A lot of this stuff
they have is really hard to find kind of stuff, and I guess the store/booth has a reputation as the "go-to" place to find stuff that can't be found anywhere else. There, I find a REALLY COOL deluxe Scrabble set that I decide I am going to snag and bring home with me. I don't want to release any more details at this point and spoil the surprise, but I think the Scrabble players back home will find this very interesting.
I have my protein bars with a glass of milk from the only food vendor in the whole market who sells milk. On the way out, I snag some grapefruit from one of the vendors. I think it's nearing the end of the season for this, and it's too bad. I surely have enjoyed my morning grapefruit here.
Back at the condo, I suit up for a workout, and head over to Anytime Fitness. (Sister) Dawn has been on my mind all day today, because this is the day she is putting her sweet Harriet to sleep. I notice as the clock turns 6 p.m., as I know her appointment at the vet is 5 p.m. central time.
Dawn, if you are reading this, you know I have already said all that I think needs saying. I'll just note for the record on this blog that it is always a sad day when we have to say goodbye to one of our kitty friends, but we must rest easy in the knowledge that we are doing the right thing. Giving them a peaceful passing, and avoiding a few extra weeks or months watching them waste away, is the final and most kind of tribute we can pay them for all they have given us. Harriet, rest in peace, sweet kitty girl.
Back at the condo, I fire up the grill and cook a nice sirloin, medium rare, and have that with fried potatoes, and a salad of the gods, prepared with all the locally grown produced I have procured earlier in the day. It is all wonderful.
I then call Dawn, who fills me in on Harriet's final moments. We both choke up a little bit, but I think we end on a good note that she did the correct and noble thing.
Expenses: breakfast, $7.50; cruise, $10; casino losses, $50; snack on ship, $6; dinner at Pinchers, $35; produce $10. Total $118.50
Bruce
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